Excuse me...Do You Have a Match?

         My grandparents were very strict and overprotective when it came to me.  I believe it was because my mother had my brother and me when she was a teenager.   Because of this, I was not allowed to do very much, except go to school and come home.  I did not go to sleepovers- not even ones hosted by family members.  I did not go to summer camp or any other trips that required overnight stay.  Even as a teenager, I had to be inside or close to my door by 5pm. I did not play sports, nor did I volunteer with any organizations.    The only activity I participated in was band, and there were many restrictions.  Had I applied to college while in high school, my extracurricular and community involvement sections on the application would have been sparse. 

          This lack of involvement had a negative effect on me.  For a long time, there was a lack of enthusiasm when it came to being involved in the world around me. I was unaware of current events.  I did not have a desire to do…anything. I had no passion. I had my routine- go to work, hang out with my friends, and go home.

Wash…Rinse…Repeat.

It was not until I went back to college in my 20’s that I started thinking about getting involved.  Even then, I did not know what I wanted to do.  It happened when I started paying attention and learning to expand my world.  I began learning about different causes, injustices, and organizations designed to assist with these causes.  I learned that I loved spoken word and I had a passion to write. I learned that I was interested in political and legal issues.  When I cast my first vote in the 2004 election, it was such a great feeling because not only was it my right; I knew why I was casting that vote, and I felt empowered.

          Just as there is strength inside all of us, there is also passion.  Something ignites a passion inside of us.  Music. Art. Injustice. Innovation. Your passion could be one or many things.  You do not have to wait until you go back to school to find your passion.  College happened to be where I found mine.  You could find yours while reading a book, or talking to a cancer survivor.  The spark could come from anywhere.

 I had buried passion because my grandparents were scared that I would repeat history so I did not expand my world.  Some of you may be in a rut because of changed circumstances.  There are many reasons why our passion fuse is unlit.  However, I am here to today to tell you it is time to strike the match.  It is time to find out what excites you.  When your passion is unleashed, you will be surprised at what could happen.  You will be surprised at what lives could be changed- starting with yours.

See you next time.

Let Me Hear You ROAR! Finding Your Inner Strength.

In the summer of 2011, I had a terrible accident that resulted in two broken legs and a dislocated ankle.  For nearly a year, I was bound in some way, bedridden for three-months, wheelchair/walker for five months, and crutches for two months.  It was a very stressful time.  Thankfully, I had a loving support system. 

 

          While dealing with the healing of my lower extremities, I had another problem- my weight gain and lack of activity.  I had been on a weight loss program and as noted in my last post, I had begun training to run my first 5k.  In the process of training, I lost a significant amount of weight.  I was very happy with my results because I was losing weight and beginning to live the active lifestyle I desired, so I planned to continue to move toward a weight-loss goal.  Unfortunately, the accident occurred two weeks after crossing the 5k finish line, placing my weight-loss and activity goals on hold.  By the time I was able to stand on both feet again, I had gained all of my weight back, plus interest. A lot of interest.  

 

 I was devastated.   When I stepped on the scale, I realized that I had to restart my weight loss process with more weight than before.  Additionally, my body was not as strong as before.  I had been in casts for nearly a year.  The couch to 5k training plan was not going to work this time.  Yet, I knew that I had to do something.

 

I started going to physical therapy to learn to walk again.  I also began researching and implementing home exercises that would help strengthen my legs and ankles to begin running again (water aerobics and exercises greatly aided in my recovery). Finally, I got a personal trainer who helped me out a couple days a week until I could come up with an exercise routine.  When I could no longer afford a personal trainer, I You-Tubed my exercises.  This started moving me in the right direction. 

 

           I hear people say, “I mustered all the strength I had to take care of [X].”  That mustered strength comes from within.  You know something? We all have it.  We all have the strength to get things done.  The strength to go after the desires of our heart.  I believe God placed that strength inside of us at birth, but somewhere along the way, some of us lose confidence in our abilities, yet gain a belief that we do not possess the strength to get through _______.  That belief could have come from anywhere: our parents, past relationships, society, friends, or other networks.  Regardless of how it arrived, this belief hinders us from believing we are strong and tapping into that inner strength, and in short, giving up pursuing our hopes and desires.

 

Five years ago, I would not have believed I could have restarted my weight-loss and activity plans.  I would have simply given up and lived with my circumstances.  Some may argue that I was able to restart my plans because of my loving support system.  While that is a fair assessment, many times we have to be our own cheerleader.  There were times when it was just too hard and too exhausting, and all I wanted to do was lay in the bed. Yet, I had to tell myself it would be worth it in the end when I was hiking, running, canoeing, and doing all the activities I wanted to do. I would lay there and envision myself doing all the fun activities. I would look at the walker, crutches, and wheelchair next to my bed, realizing that if I keep going, eventually I would no longer need these items.  That would help me with my “mustering.”  Additionally, when I was done with my sessions, I would pat myself on the on the leg (I did this instead of the back).  Even today, when I finish a good workout, I pat myself on the leg. You are allowed to be and should be your own cheerleader.   

 

While I have not reached my weight-loss goal yet, my activity level has significantly increased.  Since my restart, I have completed two 5k events, and one of them was an obstacle course. I have also started riding a bike, which I have not done since I was a teenager.  I am signed up to complete another obstacle course in a couple of weeks, and I am going on a hiking trip in the mountains next month.  We all have the strength to move in the direction we desire.  It just takes tapping in. 

 

See you next time.

 

You are Enough

I like to exercise outdoors at my neighborhood park.  This particular park has a 5K jogging trail loop that sees a lot of foot traffic.   The first time I walked this trail was in 2010 when I started training for my first 5K fun run.  Being on the track for the first time was overwhelming.  I was not an avid runner (or jogger…or walker), as most of my workouts occurred inside with stationary machines. 

I used one of those couch to 5K running plans.  When I first started training, I would get so sad when people would pass me (rather quickly) on the trail. As my breathing and body conditioning improved, I started passing other people. In some ways that became a measure of my success- a comparison game.  When someone passed me on the trail, I analyzed and compared their physique, jogging form, and any other perceived jogging attributes to mine.  The same comparative analysis occurred when I would pass someone on the trail.  The more people I passed that day, the better I felt about my training. Conversely, the more people who passed me that day, the worse I felt about my training.  In six weeks, I went from being unable to jog for one minute to jogging for thirty minutes without stopping.  It was such an accomplishment; however, I do not think it really sank in as it should.

Looking back on those moments made me realize that we (myself included) tend to compare ourselves to other people in many aspects of life.  We get into a habit of basing our successes (or perceived lack of) on whether we are doing better or worse than other people are.  

“Sure I have a nice house, but look at Jim’s place.  He has a pool and a hot tub.”

“Yes, I have a nice job, but my cousin is constantly receiving a promotion. He is doing so much better than me.”

“I may be only middle management, but Sue has been unemployed for over a year. I got it made!”

 The comparisons keep continuing. 

We should not base our success on how better or worse we have it than someone else does.   My Sunday school teacher would always say, “Not only does God love us all but He loves us each.”   We have to realize that each one of us has our own journey.  We will get to our destination in due time.  When you compare yourself to others, you are focusing on someone else’s life instead of your own.  You are robbing yourself of joy and satisfaction while bestowing upon yourself bitterness, jealousy, and possibly anger.  Had you not compared your home to Jim’s house, you would have been over-the-moon excited about your home.  Instead, you are upset because you believe the house that you worked and saved up the money to buy is simply not good enough.  That is no way to live.

 Furthermore, what you are doing is comparing apples to oranges.  You do not know where the comparative person is in their journey- whether it is their beginning, middle, or end.  What if the company based your cousin’s promotion on twenty-five years of hard work and loyalty- a promotion that came in due time.  It is part of their journey.  What would you find if you focused on your own journey? 

Your life journey will be full of high and low points.  However, the main point is that it is your journey.  It does not belong to Jim, Sue, or anybody else.  If you do not like something in your life, change it.  Just do it for the right reason- not because compared to Jane Doe- anything is better.

See you next time.

Taking A Step!

What is your dream? Do you want to start your own business? Do you want to travel to a foreign land? We have dreams placed inside of us, but for many reasons we are held back from pursuing our dreams. What is holding you back? For many of us, it is fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of failure. Even the fear of success holds us back. There are a lot of questions that have been asked in this post. However, I have one more question- Do you want to die with your dreams inside of you? Ponder on that for a moment.

You have the ability to go after your dream. You may say you do not have the business savvy to build your business. You may not have the skill yet, but you have the ability to learn how to build a business. You may think that money is holding you back from traveling. However, have you thought deeply of why you have a dream to visit a foreign land? Where in particular do you want to go? Is it for a specific purpose? There could be options available that could offset personal costs. 

I believe that dreams placed inside of us. And I don't believe we are supposed to live our life in fear or regret, though it is very easy to do. Therefore, for those of us who are fearful that our dream will be a failure, I am going to ask for a favor. Take one step in the direction of pursuit. Just one step. Write down your dream. Be as specific as possible.    That's it. 

When you are done, ask yourself, if there wasn't anything in the world that could stop this from being a success, would I be willing to take the necessary steps to make this a reality? If the answer is yes, then ask yourself this- Am I going to let fear stop me from taking the necessary steps to make this a reality?

So my final question is- what's stopping you?

See you next time

What is your dream? Do you want to start your own business? Do you want to travel to a foreign land? We have dreams placed inside of us, but for many reasons we are held back from pursuing our dreams. What is holding you back? For many of us, it is fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of failure. Even the fear of success holds us back. There are a lot of questions that have been asked in this post. However, I have one more question- Do you want to die with your dreams inside of you? Ponder on that for a moment.

You have the ability to go after your dream. You may say you do not have the business savvy to build your business. You may not have the skill yet, but you have the ability to learn how to build a business. You may think that money is holding you back from traveling. However, have you thought deeply of why you have a dream to visit a foreign land? Where in particular do you want to go? Is it for a specific purpose? There could be options available that could offset personal costs. 

I believe that dreams placed inside of us. And I don't believe we are supposed to live our life in fear or regret, though it is very easy to do. Therefore, for those of us who are fearful that our dream will be a failure, I am going to ask for a favor. Take one step in the direction of pursuit. Just one step. Write down your dream. Be as specific as possible.    That's it. 

When you are done, ask yourself, if there wasn't anything in the world that could stop this from being a success, would I be willing to take the necessary steps to make this a reality? If the answer is yes, then ask yourself this- Am I going to let fear stop me from taking the necessary steps to make this a reality?

So my final question is- what's stopping you?

See you next time

What is your dream? Do you want to start your own business? Do you want to travel to a foreign land? We have dreams placed inside of us, but for many reasons we are held back from pursuing our dreams. What is holding you back? For many of us, it is fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of failure. Even the fear of success holds us back. There are a lot of questions that have been asked in this post. However, I have one more question- Do you want to die with your dreams inside of you? Ponder on that for a moment.

You have the ability to go after your dream. You may say you do not have the business savvy to build your business. You may not have the skill yet, but you have the ability to learn how to build a business. You may think that money is holding you back from traveling. However, have you thought deeply of why you have a dream to visit a foreign land? Where in particular do you want to go? Is it for a specific purpose? There could be options available that could offset personal costs. 

I believe that dreams placed inside of us. And I don't believe we are supposed to live our life in fear or regret, though it is very easy to do. Therefore, for those of us who are fearful that our dream will be a failure, I am going to ask for a favor. Take one step in the direction of pursuit. Just one step. Write down your dream. Be as specific as possible.    That's it. 

When you are done, ask yourself, if there wasn't anything in the world that could stop this from being a success, would I be willing to take the necessary steps to make this a reality? If the answer is yes, then ask yourself this- Am I going to let fear stop me from taking the necessary steps to make this a reality?

So my final question is- what's stopping you?

See you next time

What is your dream? Do you want to start your own business? Do you want to travel to a foreign land? We have dreams placed inside of us, but for many reasons we are held back from pursuing our dreams. What is holding you back? For many of us, it is fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of failure. Even the fear of success holds us back. There are a lot of questions that have been asked in this post. However, I have one more question- Do you want to die with your dreams inside of you? Ponder on that for a moment.

 

You have the ability to go after your dream. You may say you do not have the business savvy to build your business. You may not have the skill yet, but you have the ability to learn how to build a business. You may think that money is holding you back from traveling. However, have you thought deeply of why you have a dream to visit a foreign land? Where in particular do you want to go? Is it for a specific purpose? There could be options available that could offset personal costs.

 

 

I believe that dreams placed inside of us. And I don't believe we are supposed to live our life in fear or regret, though it is very easy to do. Therefore, for those of us who are fearful that our dream will be a failure, I am going to ask for a favor. Take one step in the direction of pursuit. Just one step. Write down your dream. Be as specific as possible.    That's it.

 

When you are done, ask yourself, if there wasn't anything in the world that could stop this from being a success, would I be willing to take the necessary steps to make this a reality? If the answer is yes, then ask yourself this- Am I going to let fear stop me from taking the necessary steps to make this a reality?

 

So my final question is- what's stopping you?

 

See you next time